A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) renominated sitting MP Raju Bista from the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, party’s Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma on March 25 announced that he would contest as an Independent candidate against the official nominee.
Months ago, Mr. Sharma had demanded that a “bhumipatra ”[son of the soil] be given ticket from Darjeeling. Mr. Bista hails from Manipur and belongs to the Gorkha community.